Container for disinfectants



Sept; 11, 1928.

' r 1,683,792 R. E. NAUMBURG CONTAINER FOR 'DISINFECTANTS Filed May 26,1926 .4 jqozerzfimumrg Patented Sept. 11, 1928.

UNITED s -Ar-E's PATENT OFF-ICE.

nom'r n. NAUIBUBG, or wmcnns'rnn, amssacnusnr'rs.

CONTAINER ron msnvrncrm'rs.

Application fled an as, 1926. Serial no. 111,780.

This invention pertains to .containers or receptacles for holdingvolatile disinfectants, for example, lumps or balls of naphthalene,camphor, etc., commonly known as moth balls, and more especially tocontainers particularly adapted to be associated with a garment hangeror hook-upon which a garment is suspended when not in use.

In order that such a container or receptacle may be effective for itsintended purpose, it should be of such construction as to expose theballs or lumps of disinfectant as fully as possible to the air while atthe same time securely confining such balls even when'they have becomesubstantially diminished in size by evaporation; the container should bereadily refillable when the original supply of moth balls has wastedaway, and should preferably comprise convenient means for suspending itin the position of use; it should be substantially free from externalprojections'such as mlght catch in and tear the garment with which itmay be associated; it should be devoid of parts which may be lost ormislaid; and it should be of so simple construction and design that itmay be made and sold at a very low price.

The present invention has for its principal object the provision of adevice of the type referred to possessing the above as well as otherdesirable characteristics, and in the accompanying drawings certaindesirable embodiments of the invention have been illustrated by way ofexample.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a garment suspended upon ahanger of usual type and having a preferred form of disinfectantcontainer constructed in accordance with the present invention suspendedfrom the hanger within the garment;

Fig. 2 is an elevation to larger scale showing the garment hanger intransverse section with the improved container suspended therefrom, aportion of a garment being shown in broken lines Fig. 3 is a fragmentaryelevation of the upper part of the container, removed from the garmenthanger, and illustrating the mode of filling the container;

Fig. 4 isa fragmentary elevation of the upper part of the containershowing the same suspended from a hook or nail;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation of the upper part of the containershowing a modified type of suspension means.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view corresponding to Fig. 2; v

Fig. 7 is a view similar ,to Fig. 6 illustrating a modification; and

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate modified forms of suspension means.

The numeral 1 designates generally the improved container embodying thepresent invention, such container preferably having a body portion ofelongate cylindrical form, consisting of a length of wire coiled in theform of an open helix 2. a In order to obtain all of the objects of thepresent invention, it is essential that the wire employed be resilient,-and I prefer to employ wire of the type known as piano wire since thispossesses the desired characteristics of stiffness and high resiliencyto a marked detail as well as ability to resist rust.

The helix 2 may be of any desiredlength and is of an internal diametersuch as to accommodate lumps or balls B of disinfectant of the typewhich it is intended to hold. If the ordinary naphthalene moth balls areto be used in the container, the internal diameter: of the helix willpreferably be-of the order of one inch although the exact diameter isimmaterial so long as it is great enough to accominodatethe disinfectantto be employed. While the helix 2 is normally open, that is to say, itsadjacent spires are spaced from one another, the spacing should be closeenough to prevent escape of the moth balls from between adjacent spires,at least until the balls have become very substantially reduced indiameter. Preferably the axial spacing of the spires will be less thanhalf the I normal diameter of the moth balls.

In order to prevent escape of the moth balls from the ends of the bodyof the receptacle, I provide permanent end closures for the space withinthe receptacle. These closures are form'ed most conveniently bydeflecting the wire at the ends of the body portion so as to projectinwardly across the entrance to the space within the coil. Such adeflected portion of the wire may consist of a single bend extendingtransversely of the end of t coil, but as here shown I prefer to formthe wire at the ends of the helix 2 into a series of spirally disposedcoils of successively diminishing diameter thus providing pocketlike endclosures of conical form. Preferably the spirally disposed coils 3 and4. forming the upper and lower end closures respectively are spaced moreclosely than the spires of the body portion and at successivelydiminishing distances apart, thus providing a suitable end finish forthe receptacle and at the same time effectively preventing escape of themoth'balls from the space within the coil even when such balls havebecome very considerably reduced in diameter, the lower closure 4constituting a pocket in which even small remnants of the balls may beretained. While it is preferred to make the body portion of thecontainer cylindrical, other shapes may be used if desired, and thelength of the body portion may be diminished to a point such that theconical end closures constitute substantially the entire container.

Since the container constructed in accordance with the present inventionis particularly designed for association with a garment hanger or hookupon which a garment may be suspended, I provide the container with asuspension member 5 preferably consisting of an integral continuation ofthe wire forming the receptacle, the part 5 extending upwardly from endclosure 3 and being bent at 6 to provide the hook portion 7 whichpreferably extends at an acute angle to the part 5 and downwardly, thatis to say, reversely to the part 5. While this hook portion 7 may ifdesired terminate abruptly, as by severing the wire at the desireddistance from the bend 6, I prefer to form the extremity of the hookportion 7 into a closed loop 8 the plane of which may, if desired, besubstantially perpendicular to the axis of the diameter.

The loop portion 8 is adapted to embrace the suspending hook 10 of agarment hanger 11 of usual type, and as the loop is offset from thesuspension member 5, the container when thus supported upon the hangeris disposed in front of the plane of the hanger so that it dependswithin the garment without necessarily contacting with the material ofthe garment.

While the closed loop 8 is desirable, since it positively preventsdislodgment of the container from the hanger, an open or hook-like loopsuch as shown at 15 in Fig. 7 may be used if desired, such open loopbeing more easily associated with the hanger than the closed loop.Whether or not any loop be provided, the hook portion 7 may, if desired,

e hooked over a nail or other support 9 to suspend the container in aconvenient position for use independently of a garment hanger.

In Fig. 5 a modified arrangement is illustrated in which the receptacle1 is provided with a conical upper end portion 3 from which extends thesuspension element 5*. This suspension element terminatesin the loop 13carrying a ring 14 by means of which the device may be suspended from ahanger, hook, nail or other suitable part. Obviously this ring 14 mightbe slipped over the hook 10 of the garment hanger 11 in the same way asthe loop 8 of the first modification.

Since the ends of the container are permanently closed and since thespires of the body portion of the container are normally spaced apart adistance less than the diameter of the balls of disinfectant, it isnecessary to deform the container in order to permit it to be filled.One mode of filling the container is indicated in Fig. 3. Thus, bybending the receptacle quite sharply, adjacent spires 2 and 2 may beseparated to an abnormal extent sufiicient to permit a ball B ofdisinfectant to be slipped between them into the space within the coil.Alternately, the coil may be elongated axially to separate its spires.Obviously in order that either mode of filling may be employed thematerial of the coil must be highly resilient in order that it mayresume its normal shape after the filling operation, and for this reasonI prefer, as above stated, to employ spring wire, for example, steelpiano wire as the material for use in making the container.

The container when complete is ve light in weight, takes up but littleroom, as no sharp projections which mi ht injure a garment, in thepreferred form is of unitary con struction so that there are no parts tobe lost or misplaced, and it may be made with extreme rapidity and at avery low cost upon wire working machinery of well-known type. While theballs of disinfectant are exposed in the desired manner to the air, theyare securely retained in position until they have very substantiallydiminished in size, the open .coiled conical pocket 4 retaining evensmall remnants of the balls, and a new supply may readily be inserted inthe manner described and without manipulation of caps, gates, or othermovable parts which might accidentally open or become misplaced.

While, as illustrated, it is preferred to provide a sus ension memberintegral with the wire forming the container proper, I contemplate theprovision of other types of suspension, as for example the arrangementsshown in Figs. 8 and 9. Thus in Fig. 8, the container C is provided witha loop of string 16 attached to the uppermost coil 17 which is twistedto form a vertical ring, the latter being adapted of itself to engage ahook or nail if desired. In Fig. 9, the string 18 is attached to bothends of the container C and is adapted to support the container inhorizontal position, as for example beneath a garment hanger, in a suitcase, bureau drawer, etc.

I claim:

1. A container of the class described having an elongate cylindricalbody portion consisting of an open helical coil of resilient wire andconical end closures each consisting 0t coils or the same wire disposedin a spiral of diminishing diameter, access to the intethe wire being sodisposed as to constitute a permanent closure at each end of the'coilfor the space within the container, access to said space for the purposeof inserting the contents therein being obtainable by temporarilyseparating an' pair of adjacent spires abnormally such de brmation ofthe coil being automatically corrected by the natural resiliency of thewire.

Signed by'me at Boston, Massachusetts this 22nd day of May, 1926.

ROBERT E. NAUMBURG.

